Dogs have bitten around 58,869 persons in the last decade— from 2011-12 to January 2021— in Kashmir, which works out to 16 such cases on an average per day.
As per a report by the department of Community Medicines, Government Medical College (GMC) Srinagar, around 58,869 persons were bitten by the dogs in the last ten years in Kashmir.
Head, department at Community Medicines, SMHS, Dr Salim Khan said that they have compiled the data of dog bite cases reported during the last one decade.
“On an average the anti-rabies clinic reports 5000 to 6000 dog bite cases each year,” he said.
Dr Khan said that if a person is bitten or scratched by a dog but there is no bleeding, there is urgent need for an anti rabies vaccine. “But if the person starts bleeding then he needs the vaccine as well as immunoglobulins,” he added.
The majority of cases are being reported in Srinagar. Being the capital city and a business hub, Srinagar has large resident population, apart from several tourists, and the army and the paramilitary camps. “This leads to a lot of food wastage,” experts said.
The city’s hotels, restaurants, residential houses, poultry outlets and abattoirs generate about 450 metric tonnes (MT) of waste daily, according to SMC officials. “Of this, about 200 MT is meat waste only.”
According to medicos, frequent incidents of dog bites have become a serious medical and public issue for the citizens, especially those very young and the old.